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What if the U.S. government isn’t protecting you from China—but protecting itself from the truth?

For decades, the U.S. media and government have fed the public a carefully curated narrative: China is the enemy. From tech bans to trade wars, the message is clear—China is a dangerous force that must be contained.

But now, something unexpected is happening.

Americans are downloading RedNote (Xiaohongshu), and they’re starting to realize that everything they’ve been told might not be true.

The Shift: From Fear to Curiosity

For years, the only stories about China that reached Western audiences were filtered through legacy media outlets, government briefings, and Big Tech algorithms. The country was portrayed as an authoritarian surveillance state, an economic predator, and a threat to global stability.

But once TikTok users started migrating to RedNote, they encountered something they weren’t supposed to see: real, unfiltered glimpses of life in China. Not state propaganda, not Hollywood’s dystopian version—just everyday people sharing their lives, culture, and ideas. And it didn’t match the fear-mongering narratives they had been fed. They now know that Chinese people can afford more food from them, they are being educated better, they drive better cars and they have free health!

Portrait

The U.S. Media’s Propaganda Machine is Cracking

Think about it:

  • If China is truly the dystopian nightmare we’ve been told, why do millions of Americans find RedNote so engaging and relatable?
  • If Chinese social media apps are just government-run brainwashing tools, why does RedNote feature content critical of its own government and explore ideas that contradict the official narrative?
  • Why did the U.S. establishment freak out the moment Americans started exploring an alternative not controlled by Silicon Valley?

It’s because RedNote is doing something that Washington and the media weren’t prepared for—it’s letting Americans see China without a filter. And that realization is dangerous to those who rely on keeping the public misinformed.

The Real Threat: Americans Thinking for Themselves

RedNote is not just another social media app—it’s a digital bridge. A bridge connecting Americans to an entirely different perspective, one that Washington doesn’t want them to explore.

For decades, the U.S. has controlled narratives through:

  • Hollywood: Crafting China as the villain in every blockbuster.
  • News Media: Only amplifying negative stories while downplaying American failures.
  • Social Media Algorithms: Prioritizing fear over nuance, tension over understanding.

Now, RedNote is bypassing those filters and allowing people to directly engage with real stories from real people on the other side of the world. And that’s why it’s a problem.

The Backlash: What Comes Next?

If history has taught us anything, it’s that when Americans start questioning their government’s narratives, the establishment responds with force.

  • Expect calls for RedNote to be banned under the same guise as TikTok: “national security concerns.”
  • Expect mainstream media hit pieces framing RedNote as a tool of Chinese influence.
  • Expect Congressional hearings where politicians—who have never used the app—claim it’s a “threat to democracy.”

A Wake-Up Call for a Digital Generation

The TikTok ban was never about protecting Americans from China. It was about protecting politicians and media elites from losing control over public perception.

RedNote is the next battleground. And as more Americans download it, they aren’t just seeing a different side of China—they’re waking up to how much they’ve been misled about the world.

Break Free: Download RedNote, Download Russian Apps, See the World for Yourself

This moment shouldn’t stop with RedNote. If Americans—and even Europeans—really want to break free from media manipulation, they should download Russian apps, explore alternative platforms, and see the world for themselves.

Because when you step outside the bubble of Western propaganda, you realize something profound: common people—whether they’re in China, Russia, the U.S., or anywhere else—don’t want war. They don’t want to kill each other. They just want to live their lives, raise their families, and exist peacefully.

And maybe that’s the most dangerous truth of all. Because the moment people realize they have more in common than what divides them, the power of those who profit from division begins to crumble.

So, download the apps they don’t want you to. See the world through your own eyes. And watch as the illusion starts to fade.

propaganda posters via

What if the U.S. government doesn’t fear China spying on you—but fears losing control over the political propaganda machine?

For months, the U.S. government has been hammering home a single message: TikTok is a national security threat. They claim China is harvesting user data, tracking Americans, and influencing young minds. That’s why they’re banning it, right?

But let’s cut the crap.

If the concern was really about “China spying on Americans,” why did both Trump and Harris use TikTok in their 2024 campaigns? Did TikTok steal their data too? Or did they realize—just like every other politician—that TikTok is where the people are? If the platform was truly a Chinese surveillance tool, wouldn’t the FBI and NSA have stopped two of the most high-profile political figures in the country from using it?

The truth is, this ban isn’t about data privacy—it’s about who controls the narrative.

Meta: The U.S. Government’s Propaganda Playground

For years, political campaigns in the U.S. have spent billions on Meta’s platforms (Facebook & Instagram), carefully fine-tuning how they manipulate public opinion. It’s where political strategists deploy surgical ad campaigns, where algorithms ensure you only see what benefits those in power.

But then came TikTok. And TikTok broke the system.

Unlike Meta’s tightly controlled ad ecosystem, TikTok’s algorithm is an unpredictable beast. It doesn’t care how much money you throw at it. It decides virality on engagement, not ad spend. That’s why grassroots movements exploded, unfiltered narratives spread like wildfire, and legacy politicians suddenly realized they were losing control of the conversation.

The U.S. Government’s Selective “Data Privacy” Concerns

Think about it:

  • Facebook has repeatedly been caught selling user data, yet it still dominates U.S. elections.
  • Google tracks your every move, yet no one calls for a ban.
  • TikTok allows unfiltered political discourse, and suddenly, it’s a national security threat?

This isn’t about China spying—it’s about making sure only the right people control the digital battlefield.

Enter RedNote: The Next Threat to the Establishment

The second TikTok users started migrating to RedNote, another Chinese-owned platform, the hypocrisy became obvious. If this was about China’s influence, we’d be seeing the same level of scrutiny on RedNote. But for now, it flies under the radar. Why?

Because the U.S. government and corporate elites haven’t figured out how to weaponize it yet. Give it time. If RedNote takes off in the U.S. and proves just as uncontrollable as TikTok, expect a sudden national security crisis to emerge overnight. Suddenly, politicians will start sounding the alarm: “RedNote is a Trojan Horse!” “Chinese propaganda is brainwashing our youth!” “We must act NOW!”

It’s the same playbook, just a different platform.

The Bigger Picture: It’s Not About Privacy, It’s About Power

Let’s be clear: TikTok, Meta, Google, and RedNote all collect user data. That’s the price of using free social media platforms. But only one of these platforms disrupted the carefully controlled landscape of U.S. political influence—and that’s why it had to go.

The TikTok ban isn’t about privacy or national security. It’s about ensuring that the next generation of political discourse happens on platforms that the U.S. establishment can control.

And if RedNote becomes the next big thing? Prepare for another “crisis” that justifies its takedown.

The internet was supposed to be a free frontier. Now, it’s a battlefield. And if you’re not paying attention, you’re already losing.

Across Europe, the far right is embedding itself into the political landscape and daily life. But behind an increasingly smooth and respectable façade lies an ideology that remains fundamentally racist and violent. An in-depth focus into an ecosystem of extreme ideology in France, Germany, and Belgium.

They say history tends to repeat itself. Strauss and Howe laid the groundwork for their theory in their book Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069 (1991), which discusses the history of the United States as a series of generational biographies going back to 1584.[1] In their book The Fourth Turning (1997), the authors expanded the theory to focus on a fourfold cycle of generational types and recurring mood eras[2] to describe the history of the United States, including the Thirteen Colonies and their British antecedents. However, the authors have also examined generational trends elsewhere in the world and described similar cycles in several developed countries. Fascinating to say the least

Click here to view the chart larger

I’ve watched with deep concern—as many of you have—while social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and X (formerly Twitter) continue to abandon fact-checking. Let me tell you why that matters.

Democracy isn’t an artifact that sits on a shelf, protected by glass. It’s an ongoing conversation, a mutual understanding that despite our differences, we converge around at least one thing: an agreement on what’s real and what isn’t.

Now, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have chosen to remove or diminish the very guardrails designed to keep that conversation grounded in truth, opening a gateway to a deluge of unverified claims, conspiracy theories, and outright propaganda.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with spirited debate. I believe in open discourse just as much as anyone. But without fact-checking, the loudest, most incendiary voices will inevitably rise to the top. Lies will masquerade as truth—and with few credible gatekeepers left, many will mistake those lies for reality. This distortion doesn’t just live online; it seeps into everyday life, affecting our elections, our institutions, and the very fabric of our communities.

This brings me to an unsettling question: Is the Trump administration, by either direct encouragement or tacit approval, looking to capitalize on this shift away from fact-checking? We know political figures can benefit from an atmosphere of confusion. By flooding the zone with misinformation, they can distract the public from more pressing issues, undermine opponents, and cast doubt on legitimate inquiries. When there’s no agreement on basic facts, holding leaders accountable becomes that much harder.

Yet our problems aren’t limited to democracy alone. These days, artificial intelligence powers everything from recommendation engines to predictive text. AI systems learn from the data we feed them. If these systems are gobbling up streams of falsehoods, they will inevitably produce conclusions—and even entire bodies of text—rooted in distortion. In other words, our new AI tools risk amplifying the very misinformation that’s already so pervasive. Instead of helping us find clarity, they could end up doubling down on half-truths and conspiracies, accelerating the spread of confusion.

History tells us that propaganda, when left unchecked, exacts a steep price from society. Over time, it poisons trust in not just our political institutions, but also in science, journalism, and even our neighbors. And although I’m not in favor of letting any single entity dictate what we can or cannot say, I do believe it’s essential for the most influential technology platforms in the world to take basic steps to ensure a baseline of accuracy. We should be able to have lively debates about policy, values, and the direction of our country—but let’s at least do it from a common foundation of facts.

I still have faith in our capacity to get this right, and here’s how:

  1. Demand Accountability: Big Tech executives need to explain why they’re moving away from fact-checking. They hold immense sway over our public dialogue. We should also question whether leaders in the Trump administration are nudging these platforms in that direction—or celebrating it. If they are, the public deserves to know why. (Something obviously we’re never going to learn)
  2. Engage Wisely: Before hitting “share,” pause. Verify sources. Ask whether something might be a rumor or a distortion. Demand citations and context. As more of us practice “digital hygiene,” we create a culture of informed skepticism that keeps misinformation from running rampant.
  3. Support Ethical AI: Companies and researchers developing AI should prioritize integrity in their models. That means paying attention to data quality and ensuring biases or falsehoods aren’t baked into the training sets. We can’t let AI be fed a diet of lies—or it will spit out that same dishonesty at scale.
  4. Champion Constructive Policy: Governments can and should play a role in ensuring there’s transparency around how platforms moderate—or fail to moderate—content. This isn’t about giving the state unchecked power; it’s about setting fair, balanced guidelines that respect free speech while upholding the public’s right to truth.

Whether or not the Trump administration is behind this wave of “no fact-checking,” one thing is certain: Democracy depends on an informed populace. When powerful individuals or institutions remove the tools that help us distinguish fact from fiction, we must speak up—loudly and persistently.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Either we stand up for a digital public square where facts matter and propaganda is called out for what it is, or we risk sliding into a world where reason and compromise become impossible. In the end, it’s our shared reality—and our shared responsibility—to defend it.

If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that when people join forces with open eyes and a commitment to truth, we can achieve extraordinary things. Let’s not lose sight of that promise. Let’s hold our tech leaders and our elected officials to account. Let’s ensure we feed our AI systems the facts, not a steady stream of fabrications. Our democracy, and indeed our collective future, depends on it.

When Democracy Spoke for All

There was a time when democracy belonged to the people—not to wallets or ad budgets, but to voices and ideas.

It was messy. It was passionate. It was imperfect.
But it was ours.

Today, that promise feels further away.

What happens when the voice of a citizen is no longer measured by the strength of their argument but by the size of their wallet? What happens when democracy becomes a game of pay-to-play—when influence is bought, not earned? Well basically what we see all over our world.

The Cost of Being Heard

Here’s the truth:
In the 2024 U.S. elections, political ad spending shattered records—$10 billion spent to buy clicks, impressions, and algorithmic nudges.

And this isn’t just an American story. Between 2020 and 2023, political ad spending on Google / youtube network surged across Europe.

  • Germany spent 5.4 million euros on Google platforms.
  • Hungary spent 3 million euros.
  • The Netherlands followed with 2.6 million euros.

In comparison, top political spenders on Meta in the countries with the most campaign ad spending were more diverse. Three right-wing and far-right parties, like Belgium’s Vlaams Belang, topped the charts alongside Spain, Italy, and Sweden’s socialist and social-democratic parties. 

While digital platforms allow politicians to reach millions, they also create new risks. Low-cost, high-reach ads enable more voices—but at what cost to democracy?

The New Political Battlefield

Digital technologies have completely transformed political campaigning. Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram and ads across the Google/Youtube network offer politicians massive reach at a fraction of the cost of traditional media.

But there’s a dark side to this transformation.

Big data and micro-targeting have turned political advertising into a tool for emotional manipulation and voter exploitation. Platforms collect personal data—preferences, interests, fears—and hand it over to campaigns. Malicious actors tailor messages to trigger specific emotions, often using disinformation to sway public opinion.

And the cost isn’t just to political debate. It’s to our freedom of opinion, our access to transparent information, and our trust in democracy itself.

Why Transparency Matters

The European Union has taken steps to address this and hopefully change things for the better. In February 2024, the European Parliament adopted new transparency rules for political advertising. These rules aim to:

  1. Ensure political ads are clearly labelled.
  2. Reveal who sponsored the ad, how much they paid, and why a user was targeted.
  3. Ban micro-targeting based on sensitive personal data—such as ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.

For the first time, sponsoring ads from outside the EU will also be banned in the three months leading up to elections.

Sandro Gozi, the MEP leading the effort, put it simply:

“Digital technologies make citizens more vulnerable
to disinformation and foreign interference. Now more than ever, it is crucial to safeguard our democratic and electoral processes. The rules adopted today play a pivotal role in helping citizens discern who is behind a political message and make an informed choice when they head to the polls. With the European elections approaching, we urge all major online platforms to start applying the new rules as soon as possible and ensure the digital space remains a safe place to exchange political ideas and opinions”

Transparency is a start—but it doesn’t erase the deeper problem: money still determines who gets heard and this will continue to apply.

The Divide Widens

The U.S. has yet to adopt similar measures, leaving its political advertising landscape wide open to manipulation and exploitation. While the EU attempts to protect voter trust, the U.S. continues to favor unregulated ad spending, allowing disinformation and algorithmic dominance to flourish unchecked.

This imbalance is growing, and with it, the gap between those who can afford to play—and those left behind.

When the Margins Rise

And yet, there’s hope.

In 2020, Stacey Abrams and her grassroots organization Fair Fight Action transformed voter turnout in Georgia. Through community organizing, digital outreach, and relentless advocacy, her team overcame systemic barriers to reach voters who had long been excluded from the political process.

Her success wasn’t powered by the biggest ad budget. It was fueled by purpose and the belief that democracy works best when everyone participates.

This story reminds us: Money matters, but passion and persistence can still punch through.

The Real Cost of Silence

If democracy becomes something you can buy, what happens to those who can’t afford it?

What happens to voters when they can’t trust the information they see?
What happens to elections when money doesn’t just buy ads—it buys influence?

The European Union’s steps toward transparency are progress. But the real question remains:

Who gets heard? Who gets silenced? And what future are we building when the price of political influence keeps rising?

In the end, it is all about what kind of democracy we want

One where the wealthiest voices dominate—or one where every citizen has a seat at the table?

What happens when the algorithms we trust to inform us are rigged to reward dollars/euros etc over discourse?

Democracy isn’t a product. It’s not a brand. It’s a promise. A promise that belongs to all of us—not just those who can afford to buy in.

The question is: Will we fight for that promise?

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